Now that I finally finished my runabout/wakeboat I found out how cramped it was when I tried to load it down with a bunch of girls.... so to fix this problem I sold my boat to m best friend (that way I will always be able to use it) and bought a 30' house boat. Its kinda been RED NECKED up by some bass fisher but give it time and watch this project unfold! Paint job will be come next week to get that camo **** off! If anyone has any suggestions let me hear them, this will be my first party hut but I am thinking, DJ booth, kegerator, sat dish with flat screen in side, diving board off the back, etc.

HAHHAHAHAHA heck no! Pontoons are going to be painted a grey this week, and this top will be a white with black trim. Classic camper looking update! Maybe down the road I'll add a design or two on the side! My old boat didn't have a name but I really think this should have something! IDEAS?

Covered 40' slip on the riverside of the launch ramp. Also unnamed and needing some vinyl. With that said I'm going to haul her out this winter for sandblasting (steel hull) and repainting. Might tackle so other projects while she's dry to make her more party friendly.

First time we took her out into the meadows, I ended up a bit too deep in a finger and clogged our freshwater intake, shredding the impellers (2). Thought I had a spare, ends up it was the previous owners ski boat impeller. Luckily my inflatable with a 15hp outboard was able to get the houseboat back into the slip after 6 hours of very interesting maneuvering through the meadows.

So I have a question.. If you're on your boat with your crew and everyone is drunk but the boat is sitting, not running, or being operated in any way, shape, or form... Can you be in trouble from the 5.0? Is there a law or rule that says someone has to be sober or under the legal limit per say at all times? I'm not talking about being slobbered drunk, just if everyone is over the legal limit....

Sweet lil boat! We are starting our 4th season with ours. Best things I have done to the boat are as follows:

-Shade, up on top. Some kind of a bimini or pop-up. We went 2 years without, had no idea what we were missing....

-Tunes. Ipod controlling deck, nice 5 channel amp, inside speakers and outside speakers that are easily selectable, and stash a sub somewhere. I use a 10" in a truck style box under the couch, it is good, but two would be better......

-BBQ. Paid way too much for a stainless one from west marine that mounts to the square railing and hangs off the side, but I would not do it any different now. It kicks ass, the mess stays off the boat, and you can cook a good amount of food on it.

-Solar panel and twin 6V golf cart batteries for the house. We ran 2 years plus with old, crap batteries that would not even play the stock crappy stereo all day and forget about running lights at night, it was a joke. We were running the generator all the time and it is crazy LOUD!!! 125W panel with two 6V batteries and I can run the stereo system bumping from the time we get up til we crash out and have lights on for a few hours at night with no problem. Probably the best improvement when you take into consideration I am never worried about house power anymore at all. Just keep the batteries topped off with water....

CA laws specifies "shall not operate" so I'm guessing at anchor or dock you are OK. That said shall not operate include water skis and aquaplanes (wakeboards) so technically you cannot ride if over the legal limit. Not sure I would want to test it but for the most part the water 5-0 are ok around here, the USCG on the other hand is a wild card.

As for the 5.0, if you are in full on party mode, act somewhat responsible, show them you know your way around boats and water, and most importantly have some extra grub on the grill for when they stop by to say "Hi". Those dudes are out there all day in the sun dealing with knuckleheads and trust me they will enjoy some fresh and hot BBQ over that crap ass PB&J they threw together at 4 in the morning before their shift.....

What type of generator are people using, I am stuck between the Honda EU6500 and an Onan. The reason I am thinking Onan is because I can rubber mount it to kill some vibration and it is build to be put inside an enclosure so that will kill a lot of the noise. The Honda is quiet but not as quiet as an Onan inside its enclosure, and I can not enclose a Honda! Big no no. Let me hear your ideas. I'll be running 1 AC, Stereo, Fridge, Microwave, Hot water heater, and big screen lcd.

I have this Powerhouse generator. Yes it's an off-brand but it's actually quieter than a Honda EU3000, plus it has a remote control start button so I didn't have to wire a remote key inside the salon. I pack it on and pack it off when I go on trips. It's available at Northern Tool (I got it from my local horse trailer dealership)

In all honesty, a simple EU2000 would be way more than I would ever need, but keep in mind I also have a 3000 watt inverter on (6) 6V golf cart batteries.

I would suggest you research an inverter system then go with an inexpensive generator. If my batteries were brand new fresh, I wouldn't need to take my generator out at all for a regular weekend.

I have an EU3000is that we run when off the boat to recharge the batteries. That said, I'm still trying the figure out the power needs and only have 2 trojan 105s right now for the house bank and a separate deep cycle for the engine.

The reason we are adding the fridge, water heater, microwave, and oven is we go to a lot of Clemson Football games on lake Hartwell, just pull the boat up on the beach and you are ready to tailgate! After the game we can just crash their instead of going home. The only appliances that would normally be running would be the AC and sound system.

I'm planning on running my boat from Walnut Grove to a buddy's dock in the Pocket south of Sacramento in a few weeks. ~49 miles total. We'll see how it goes...

Whew... You have to go all the way south to Tower Park and around past Oxbow and up the Georgiana slough to get up to Sacramento. As long as your motor is running good, it shouldn't be a problem. Here in a couple weeks I'm gonna be meeting my buddy who is renting a houseboat from 8 Mile Rd. is Stockton and we are gonna meet somewhere halfway to tie up together. Not sure where we'll meet yet but that's gonna be a good 2.5-3hrs cruise.
Just keep your motor running easy, no need to get it up on plane and make it struggle for that kind of distance.
I've made that run in my other friends 50' Bluewater with twin 454's. Took us about 4 hrs to get from Walnut grove on the Molkelumne, back to Walnut Grove on the Sac river.

Love it!.. There's been a few 50' x 14' barges go up for sale here.. I've been very tempted to buy one. I'd have a tiki bar, hot tub, dj booth and a bbq. Only problem is moorage for boats that big is essentially non existent here.

I'd definitely run your fridge off propane. It is going to be a huge power hog running on elec.

Until I figure out the moorage problem I'll have to stick with my Epic and 2 or 3 inflatable party rafts

I'm planning on running my boat from Walnut Grove to a buddy's dock in the Pocket south of Sacramento in a few weeks. ~49 miles total. We'll see how it goes...

Wow. That's a pretty long trek! Too bad you can't go through the drum dams (cross channel gates). That would cut your trip in half or better. I'm wondering how long that little trip will take you. Especially going upriver in a houseboat. Still beats working though.

Covered 40' slip on the riverside of the launch ramp. Also unnamed and needing some vinyl. With that said I'm going to haul her out this winter for sandblasting (steel hull) and repainting. Might tackle so other projects while she's dry to make her more party friendly.

First time we took her out into the meadows, I ended up a bit too deep in a finger and clogged our freshwater intake, shredding the impellers (2). Thought I had a spare, ends up it was the previous owners ski boat impeller. Luckily my inflatable with a 15hp outboard was able to get the houseboat back into the slip after 6 hours of very interesting maneuvering through the meadows.

Looked for you boat yesterday. I went out there to work on mine. Is your's white and teal?

For those that are running an inverter setup, how long can your basic deep cycle marine battery last while playing music. I am running a house 5.1 unit with 4 speakers for the weekend until I get my generator.

White, Navy, and some rust... A bit cleaner than these pictures. That said, she's in need of a haulout but that's for this winter. I am thinking about monstaliner or upol raptor DIY bedliner material for the walking surfaces. Should help as the painted steel can get slick.

Wow. That's a pretty long trek! Too bad you can't go through the drum dams (cross channel gates). That would cut your trip in half or better. I'm wondering how long that little trip will take you. Especially going upriver in a houseboat. Still beats working though.

It is a long trek. Luckily I can leave the boat up here in Sac for a week or two if needed. The cross channel too low. Even need the first two bridges to open for us from the research I've done.

This boat was given to me and a buddy because our friends Dad is getting older and he didn't want to sell it. Boat had not run in years. After a lot of troubleshooting we got the boat to start, but then it wouldn't shift into gear, so we replaced the transmission cables. Then issues with the 12volt system. Then the ignition. Then it was the adjustment on the transmission cable which has to be adjusted at the helm and outdrive. Then we fried the impellers last fall and over the winter someone stole the linkage for the transmission. I'd be frustrated if this wasn't a labor of love. The learning experience has been invaluable and I have big plans for the future with this boat.

At this point everything is working, she starts consistently every time and the batteries hold a charge between outings. Probably go stretch her legs this weekend. Then the big run after the 4th.

For those that are running an inverter setup, how long can your basic deep cycle marine battery last while playing music. I am running a house 5.1 unit with 4 speakers for the weekend until I get my generator.

Just a single deep cycle battery? I'm pretty sure your typical battery like that only has about a 100ah rating.

If I assume your 5.1 system is a 1000watt stereo you'll be lucky to get 6 or 7 hours. That's a pretty inefficient way to get sound.
But with that said, I've done it for a weekend once myself

Speaking of sound... Went down Saturday morning and things looked a little tossed but I co-own this boat with a buddy so I was a little pissed thinking he left in a hurry and left everything in disarray. Then I discovered that our stereo had been stolen.

Called the marina office and I guess last monday the Sheriff was down taking reports on multiple boats that were broken into. And the docks are secured by gates or at least mine is so that's not reassuring.

Paula w/ the Marina said there was a report filed that some older guy that looked like a tweaker in a camo tin boat that woke some people up when he boarded in the middle of the night. Unfortunately he got away, my bet is it was the same guy and my stereo was in his boat.

Made the full 49.16 miles from Walnut Grove Marina to Sacramento (south to Oxbow then north on Georgiana Slough). Took 8.5 hours total and about 30 gallons of gas. Not bad for the first big outing. Though I do wish I had twins at this point.

White, Navy, and some rust... A bit cleaner than these pictures. That said, she's in need of a haulout but that's for this winter. I am thinking about monstaliner or upol raptor DIY bedliner material for the walking surfaces. Should help as the painted steel can get slick.

look into poly-tuff or tufflex. I used poly tuff on my houseboat for top deck and lower deck area's that i couldn't use composite decking on. Its what a lot of houseboats use for upper-deck coatings. You use a roller and handle to apply and it will stick to anything. I used diy bed liner on some steps for my boat trailer last season and they already need to be re-done. With all the trouble you'll go through masking etc. i'd spring for the good stuff if you can.

Hey, you made it to Sac! Nice. The trip back will be much easier with the current. Might consider watching the tides to maximize fuel on the way back? Say hi if you pass by a black 2005 SAN in the river near WG.

Refrigerators are a waste. Your better off with a quality cooler that does not melt ice. If I was making longer trips I would replace my refrigerator with an ice maker to keep the coolers full. I also got rid of the grill and now use a George Foreman Grill. Stores much easier and is easy to keep clean.

Hey, you made it to Sac! Nice. The trip back will be much easier with the current. Might consider watching the tides to maximize fuel on the way back? Say hi if you pass by a black 2005 SAN in the river near WG.

Will do. Think we're coming back labor day. Should get some better fuel consumption and speed on the way back. Had a chance to clean the bottom of the boat recently and that should help.

3.) Might have to hit you guys up for some electrical advice over the winter. Think I'm doing a full rewire and I keep finding wires without termination points, ect, and just want to get this to the point I don't have to worry about it.

Will do. Think we're coming back labor day. Should get some better fuel consumption and speed on the way back. Had a chance to clean the bottom of the boat recently and that should help.

As this has sort of been hijacked by me as a houseboat thread, figured I'd update.

Hit a submerged object on the way back to WG on Labor Day weekend and started taking on some water. Got the boat Isleton to have the boat hauled out and then arranged to have her shipped to a yard just north of Sacramento where I can do some work. So the old girl is up on hard for the winter. Going to abrasive blast the hull, repair the spot where the weld split, prime and paint. Actually considering having line-x come out and do a smooth application on the bottom.

Of course there's the fantasy of repowering the boat but I don't think that's in the cards.

Canceled the slip in WG and worked out a deal with my buddy who has the dock in Sacramento. So I don't think my boat will be back in a slip down there anytime soon.

Caio bella is still up on lake Sonoma. The new owner is Buddies with a friend of mine. I met him a month or so ago. He told me he completely remodeled it and they went water skiing behind it a few times.

Caio bella is still up on lake Sonoma. The new owner is Buddies with a friend of mine. I met him a month or so ago. He told me he completely remodeled it and they went water skiing behind it a few times.

I'm hoping to find something thats super tough and results in a smooth orange peel finish like Monstaliner but is cheaper than Monstaliner.

A couple questions please...

1) Do you get a smooth orange peel finish with Poly-Tuff and Tuflex like you do with Monstaliner or is it a rough finish?

2) Is Poly-Tuff and Tuflex cheaper than Monstaliner?

Quote:

Originally Posted by bass10after

look into poly-tuff or tufflex. I used poly tuff on my houseboat for top deck and lower deck area's that i couldn't use composite decking on. Its what a lot of houseboats use for upper-deck coatings. You use a roller and handle to apply and it will stick to anything. I used diy bed liner on some steps for my boat trailer last season and they already need to be re-done. With all the trouble you'll go through masking etc. i'd spring for the good stuff if you can.

Poly tuff and tufflex is kind of a three step process. Prep all the joints and seams and mask then roll on at least two thick coats of material. After the second coat you apply rubber granuls all over the wet second coat and wait for it to completely dry. Poly tuff uses rubber tufflex is a harder material I believe. Then blow off or sweep the excess that doesn't stick and apply a top coat to seal those in. It provides a somewhat giving but non skid surface. There are varying sizes to the grit portion as well. I don't know how much the stuff costs these days it's been about 4 years since I purchased any. I've seen both and poly tuff is the better of the two that's why we went that route.